OMIA:001199-30640 : Coat colour, extension in Sciurus carolinensis |
In other species: cattle , dog , horse , red fox , pig , sheep , jaguar , jaguarundi , American black bear , woolly mammoth , domestic cat , rabbit , domestic guinea pig , goat , Arctic fox , rock pocket mouse , oldfield mouse , lesser earless lizard , little striped whiptail , water buffalo , domestic yak , alpaca , , coyote , reindeer , Geoffroy's cat , Colocolo , ass , Arabian camel , Mongolian gerbil , raccoon dog , fallow deer , zebu , lorises , antarctic fur seal
Categories: Pigmentation phene
Possibly relevant human trait(s) and/or gene(s)s (MIM numbers): 266300 (trait) , 155555 (gene)
Links to MONDO diseases: No links.
Mendelian trait/disorder: yes
Considered a defect: no
Key variant known: yes
Year key variant first reported: 2009
Cross-species summary: The extension locus encodes the melanocyte-stimulating hormone receptor (MSHR; now known as MC1R). This receptor controls the level of tyrosinase within melanocytes. Tyrosinase is the limiting enzyme involved in synthesis of melanins: high levels of tyrosinase result in the production of eumelanin (dark colour, e.g. brown or black), while low levels result in the production of phaeomelanin (light colour, e.g. red or yellow). When melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) binds to its receptor, the level of tyrosinase is increased, leading to production of eumelanin. The wild-type allele at the extension locus corresponds to a functional MSHR, and hence to dark pigmentation in the presence of MSH. As explained by Schneider et al. (PLoS Genet 10(2): e1004892; 2015), "The most common causes of melanism (black coat) mutations are gain-of-function alterations in MC1R, or loss-of function alterations in ASIP, which encodes Agouti signaling protein, a paracrine signaling molecule that inhibits MC1R signaling". Mutations in MC1R have been associated with white colouring in several species.
History: McRobie et al. (2014) showed that the same 24bp deletion occurs in North American gray squirrels as in British gray squirrels. Noting that the British gray squirrel arose from importations from the North American squirrel in the late 19th century, the authors concluded that "the melanic gray squirrel found in the British Isles originated from one or more introductions of melanic gray squirrels from North America".
Molecular basis: By sequencing an obvious candidate gene in three coat-colour phenotypes (the wild-type gray, a jet-black, and a brown–black phenotype) of the British gray squirrel, McRobie et al. (2009) identified a causal mutation in MC1R: "The gray phenotype was homozygous for the wild-type allele E^+, the jet-black phenotype was homozygous for the MC1R-Δ24 allele E^B ["at amino acid positions 87–94"], and the brown–black phenotype was heterozygous for the E^+ and E^B alleles."
McRobie et al. (2014; FEBS Lett) showed "that agouti signalling protein (ASIP) is an inverse agonist to the MC1R-wt but is an agonist to the MC1RΔ24. We conclude that the deletion in the MC1RΔ24 leads to a receptor with a high basal activity which is further activated by ASIP. This is the first report of ASIP acting as an agonist to MC1R".
Associated gene:
Symbol | Description | Species | Chr | Location | OMIA gene details page | Other Links |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MC1R | Sciurus carolinensis | - | no genomic information (-..-) | MC1R | Ensembl |
Variants
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WARNING! Inclusion of a variant in this table does not automatically mean that it should be used for DNA testing. Anyone contemplating the use of any of these variants for DNA testing should examine critically the relevant evidence (especially in breeds other than the breed in which the variant was first described). If it is decided to proceed, the location and orientation of the variant sequence should be checked very carefully.
Since October 2021, OMIA includes a semiautomated lift-over pipeline to facilitate updates of genomic positions to a recent reference genome position. These changes to genomic positions are not always reflected in the ‘acknowledgements’ or ‘verbal description’ fields in this table.
OMIA Variant ID | Breed(s) | Variant Phenotype | Gene | Allele | Type of Variant | Source of Genetic Variant | Reference Sequence | Chr. | g. or m. | c. or n. | p. | Verbal Description | EVA ID | Inferred EVA rsID | Year Published | PubMed ID(s) | Acknowledgements |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
674 | Melanism (black) | MC1R | E^B | deletion, gross (>20) | Naturally occurring variant | MC1RΔ24 allele E^B ["at amino acid positions 87-94"] | 2009 | 19643815 |
References
Note: the references are listed in reverse chronological order (from the most recent year to the earliest year), and alphabetically by first author within a year.
2014 | McRobie, H.R., King, L.M., Fanutti, C., Symmons, M.F., Coussons, P.J. : |
Agouti signalling protein is an inverse agonist to the wildtype and agonist to the melanic variant of the melanocortin-1 receptor in the grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). FEBS Lett 588:2335-43, 2014. Pubmed reference: 24879893 . DOI: 10.1016/j.febslet.2014.05.032. | |
McRobie, H.R., King, L.M., Fanutti, C., Coussons, P.J., Moncrief, N.D., Thomas, A.P. : | |
Melanocortin 1 Receptor (MC1R) Gene Sequence Variation and Melanism in the Gray (Sciurus carolinensis), Fox (Sciurus niger), and Red (Sciurus vulgaris) Squirrel. J Hered :, 2014. Pubmed reference: 24534267 . DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esu006. | |
2009 | McRobie, H., Thomas, A., Kelly, J. : |
The genetic basis of melanism in the gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). J Hered 100:709-14, 2009. Pubmed reference: 19643815 . DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esp059. |
Edit History
- Created by Frank Nicholas on 18 Jul 2010
- Changed by Frank Nicholas on 12 Oct 2011
- Changed by Frank Nicholas on 12 Dec 2011
- Changed by Frank Nicholas on 21 Mar 2012
- Changed by Frank Nicholas on 26 Feb 2014
- Changed by Frank Nicholas on 03 Oct 2014